Is your child on school roll, but struggling with attendance?
Having a child or young person who is struggling to attend school can be extremely distressing for everyone involved.
As parents, we want the best for our children and we have been made to believe that keeping them in school means that they get the best education. This is not always true
The school system is designed as an all round package for all children. However in life, we aren't all the same. What one person can cope with, another one cannot.
Schools have many amazing teachers who do their best, but the system sadly does not suit all children.
However there are a number of children who could access school, if they had adjustments in place that they are entitled to! If you believe your child CAN remain in school, but just needs some support then here is some more information for you!
Did you know?
Since the Covid Pandemic, the number of children who struggle in school has significantly increased. Neurodivergent young people have the worst levels of school attendance. In fact a 2024 study on school absenteeism showed that 92% of children with attendance issues at school were either diagnosed or suspected neurodivergent.
If you need specific support, please do contact us!
Key things to remember when dealing with attendance issues:
1) Remember that it is your child and you need to make decisions around what is best for them.
2) Mental Health is more important than school attendance.
3) Keep everything in writing and work with the school. A lot of children thrive in school with the right support, so if you believe that this is your child, then fight for what they need.
Common Questions
Why won't my child tell me why they won't go to school?
It is highly likely that they do not know why. Often we say that a child 'won't' go to school. Often it is that they 'can't'.
Especially if your child is neurodivergent and is masking, or if they have suffered trauma such as bullying.
When someone has been repeatedly doing something that they struggle with over a period of time, it can lead to burnout. Once a child is in burnout, they will struggle to articulate their feelings and why they can and can't do things.
Everything will become hard.
Rather than asking them to explain something they can't, it can be helpful to observe their behaviour. Keeping a diary, noticing trends and observe how they react to things, and before and after them. This may help you identify what they are struggling with.
School want a letter to authorise my childs absences, but I can't get one. What do I do?
Schools often refuse to authorise a child absence without medical information. This includes any medical absence, colds, anxiety, mental health etc
This is not correct!
Medical evidence should be used in minimal circumstances and mainly to ensure that children are getting adjustments they need in times of complex or long term health conditions. It should be used to enable them to have adjustments in school and not to authorise absences.
When authorising absences, parents should be able to inform the school of what’s wrong with their child. Schools should NOT be marking children as unauthorised absence because of a lack of medical evidence
GP's are also not funded to provide medical evidence to schools.
Here is a link to the full guidance
Are welfare checks from school needed?
Yes
I understand that when your child is absent from school, that welfare checks can be very stressful for you all.
Sadly there have been situations in the past where children have been off of school and seriously harmed, even killed.
As a result, schools now have an obligation to do reasonable welfare checks.
Reasonable would be weekly or fortnightly.
Checks often cannot be arranged in advance for safeguarding reasons
However, be aware that welfare checks should be very limited in their interaction. They should be able to see the child but are not entitled to enter your property, or engage in conversation about returning to school.
The purpose is just to ensure that your child has not come to harm.
Should I force my child into school?
Only you can decide what is best for your child but it is worth considering the following.
How is your childs overall mental health, are they coping generally in life?
How is there behaviour when they are in school and time leading up to and following school?
What are they communicating to you with their actions?
In addition I would never recommend using any kind of force in getting your child to school.
When dealing with a child who is refusing to go to school, it is important to understand the long term effects on their mental health. Children and young people can learn in lots of different ways, and at different times in their lives. They can end up with very successful careers and do well in life regardless of what type of education that they have had.
The importance is that they have an education, not where or how that education takes place.
Mental health and long term relationships are harder to fix and some children never recover from trauma relating to school.
What are my options if my child won't go in?
You have the following options:
1)Force your child into school
2) Work with the school to look at supportive interventions and/or temporary adjustments to enable them to attend (which we would always recommend being your FIRST approach)
3) Consider home schooling (where your child learns from home but is still on the school roll) - This is often part of an alternative provision or a temporary measure to get a child back to school
4) Request an EHCP*
5) Request an alternative learning provision or Education other than school (EOTAS**) through the local authority
6) De-register your child and elect to Home Educate (where your child is no longer on school roll and you take responsibility for their education in full)
*Please note that the EHCP route can be complicated and time consuming, it is highly recommended you receive support through a dedicated network such as Pinpoint (more information can be found on the resources page)
** Please note that the EOTAS route is extremely difficult to achieve and it is highly recommended that you obtain support from a specialist network such as Pinpoint prior to applying,
I think my child is neurodivergent, what do I do?
If your child is showing signs of being neurodivergent, you can request an assessment for Autism (ASD) or ADHD. This can be done in one of three ways:
1) Through your school. The school route takes time and you will go through a process with them that ends up with a referral to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for diagnosis. Unfortunately there is an extensive waiting list.
2) Request an assessment privately through a number of different providers. This can cost between £1500 - £2500
3) Request a referral via Right to Choose (RTC) with your GP. Currently this is available to all children for both ASD and ADHD. Some GP's refuse to do this, however it is your legal right so if you do decide on this route and get refused by the GP then let us know so we can help you.
Waiting lists for RTC are much reduced, however can be for 8-12 months with some providers.
More details on the RTC providers and waiting list can be found on this facebook group.
Are you anti school?
No
At Birch & Bees we are pro education. We believe that every child deserves a quality education whatever that may look like.
As a society, we have been conditioned to believe that school is the only place that our children can be educated, and that we are doing them a disservice by not making them attend.
Schools are full of fantastic teaching staff who do their very best, and there are many children, both neurotypical and neurodivergent, who thrive in school.
However there are too many who struggle and we want a fairer system that allows ALL children to access education.
With adjustments in place and supportive intervention many children will be able to still do well in school, sadly some will not and the only option is to Home Educate.
There are so many options around educating your child, learning is everywhere. For some it is school, for others it is not.
What is an EHCP?
An EHCP is an Education Health and Welfare Plan. It is designed to give your child the support that they need, through adjustments or additional support/equipment, to enable them to remain in school.
EHCP's can be instigated by the school or the parent and children do not need any diagnosis in order to have an EHCP
More information on how to apply can be found here:
What is EBSA
EBSA is Emotionally Based School Avoidance. It has replaced the term 'School Refusal'.
EBSA is a controversial term as it implies that the child is not attendening school because of emotions. The emphasis is on the child, and not how the child and school impact each other.
A lot of schools are putting in measures to deal with EBSA however, in a number of peoples opinion, these often do not deal with the root cause.
There are a number of children and young people who have EBSA however, it is felt by some, that this is limited. The majority are absent from school due to the school being unable to meet their needs.
If we put it into an adult context. Someone who is at work is struggling with the workload or bullying by a colleague. They try to deal with it, and it has been raised with their managers but it continues.
The person may then not attend work because they are mentally too unwell as a result of what has been happening. They are not signed off with Emotionally Based Work Avoidance, they are off with Work Related Stress.
To enable the person to come back to work, the organisation will often put in place measures to stop what was previously happening in the short and long term. This enables the person to return.
If a school puts temporary measures in place to enable a child to return, but nothing long term OR the route cause of the issue isn't dealt with, then in most cases the child will not be able to sustain the return and will then a cycle of intermittent attendance will take place.
What is an Alternative Provision?
An Alternative Provision is defined by the government as:
education arranged by local authorities for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; alternative provision can also be used by schools for children on a suspension (fixed period exclusion);
However schools are also using it in their language when talking about learning provisions within a school that are not the same as the main provision of that school.
So for example, where a child would normally attend 6 lessons in classrooms throughout the day, an in school alternative provision could be that they attend a sensory room with a 1:5 teacher ratio instead.
Alternative Provisions are not easily accessed as they require additional budgets and funding.
The Local Authority and School guidance, February 2025, on Alternative Provisions can be found here
Details of Cambridgeshire out of school alternative provisions can be found here
Please ensure you are reading the most up to date copy if using this guide for any other purpose.
What is Regulation 19?
Regulation 19 is a statutory right to Education if your child is off of school for 15 days or more.
The official government guidance states:
This guidance relates to local authorities statutory duties under section 19 of the Education Act 1996. The s.19(1) duty states that local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education without such provision.
This duty is referred to as ‘the s.19 duty’ throughout this guidance.
• This means that where a child cannot attend school because of a physical or mental health need, and cannot access suitable full-time education, the local authority is responsible for arranging suitable alternative provision.
It also states that:
There is no absolute legal deadline by which local authorities must start to arrange education for children with additional health needs. However, as soon as it is clear that a child will be away from school for 15 days or more because of their health needs, the local authority should arrange suitable alternative provision. The 15 days may be consecutive or over the course of a school year.
This education can be that, whilst your child is not well enough to attend school, that they receive education that they can do at home such as online learning, or paper based learning. It can also be that they attend somewhere such as a forest school or farm (the provider must be registered as an alternative provision)
More information can be found on the government guidance, December 2023. here
Please ensure that you are using the most up to date guidance if you are using elsewhere
Is my child covered by the Equality Act 2010 for disability?
This is not an easy question to answer as it depends on the individual.
Schools have specific duties under the Equality Act to ensure their policies and practices do not discriminate against pupils based on their protected characteristics. Disability is classed as protective characteristic.
This includes duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils and to prevent bullying and harassment.
Only a judge can determine if someone is actually covered by the Act for disability, however it is LIKELY someone is covered by the act if:
A person (P) has a disability if—
(a)P has a physical or mental impairment, and
(b)the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on P's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Long term is generally accepted as 12 months or over.
Under the Act disabled people are entitled to apply for reasonable adjustments and for these to be considered.
It is not an automatic right for them to be put in place.
However, if an adjustment is refused, it must be shown that it is because it is not reasonable.
An example would be that a wheelchair user needed to access a room on the second floor as a one off event, however there are no lifts.
An adjustment that would not be reasonable would be for a lift to be installed. However a reasonable adjustment would be to have the meeting in a room that is accessible.
There are so many adjustments that can be made for children and young people who have additional needs, that are linked to being neurodivergent, and if you feel your child meets the requirements of the act, you are legally able to apply for them.